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Islamabad Wants Taliban To Talk With Afghan Govt: Qureshi

Pakistan Foreign Minister says “outsiders can do little to help Afghans overcome war if they do not sit together”.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Islamabad wants the Taliban to give up their refusal to talk to the Afghan government so that a political settlement of the 17-year-old conflict could be negotiated.

“We want them to sit together. It is for Afghans to sort out their problems and as long as they do not sit down and talk to each other, outsiders can do little to help them,” Qureshi said as quoted by Dawn in a report published on Friday.

Quoted by the Dawn, Qureshi said “outsiders can do little to help Afghans overcome war if they do not sit together”.

The remarks come as the Afghan President’s Special Envoy Umer Daudzai is in a four-day visit to Islamabad to hold talks with Pakistani officials as well as political and religious leaders to discuss the Afghan peace.

Daudzai met with Pakistan Foreign Minister on January 8 where they two sides discussed the Afghan peace process and strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries.

Analysts suggest that the Afghan government has been “sidelined” from the peace talks. However, the Afghan government has rejected such claims and has emphasized that it is involved in the whole process.

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Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said Islamabad wants the Taliban to give up their refusal to talk to the Afghan government so that a political settlement of the 17-year-old conflict could be negotiated.

“We want them to sit together. It is for Afghans to sort out their problems and as long as they do not sit down and talk to each other, outsiders can do little to help them,” Qureshi said as quoted by Dawn in a report published on Friday.

Quoted by the Dawn, Qureshi said “outsiders can do little to help Afghans overcome war if they do not sit together”.

The remarks come as the Afghan President’s Special Envoy Umer Daudzai is in a four-day visit to Islamabad to hold talks with Pakistani officials as well as political and religious leaders to discuss the Afghan peace.

Daudzai met with Pakistan Foreign Minister on January 8 where they two sides discussed the Afghan peace process and strengthening of bilateral relations between the two countries.

Analysts suggest that the Afghan government has been “sidelined” from the peace talks. However, the Afghan government has rejected such claims and has emphasized that it is involved in the whole process.